Promises to Keep
by chicmns
Summary: Something I wrote after enjoying "Yuletide Reflections" by Kameka .... sort of a continuing story!


Title: Promises to Keep  
  
Author: Chicmns  
  
Rating: G  
  
Notes/Disclaimer: I own no characters whatsoever - Lifetime owns 'em and profits from them, not me. I'm just trying to be a good writer in an uncivilized world...  
  
Acknowledgements: Thank you, Kameka, for your wonderful story that inspired me to write a follow-up, if you will. Any mistakes are mine, and I'm sure The Powers That Be will mete out a proper justice.   
  
Summary: A Cliff and Taylor vignette, based on and taking place a day or so after "Yuletide Reflections"  
  
Taylor woke early on Christmas, earlier than she'd expected to. Last night was very exciting and emotionally draining all at the same time. Hearing her Aunt Zoe read to everyone from "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in the living room while wrapped up in her favorite fleece comforter, with her brother Cliff leaning against her legs giving her even more warmth and comfort, was a precious memory she would always keep near to her. Opening her eyes wider, she glanced at her dresser where she'd left the beautiful earrings her mom had owned and worn for so long, and that Aunt Zoe had given her as an early present last night. Her eyes suddenly teared again as her heart filled with love for her aunt who drove her nuts most of the time with her constant mothering and rules .... but who she now couldn't imagine living without. She had definitely changed her mind about her interesting aunt, who'd given up her life in Las Vegas to come live with Hannah, Cliff, and Taylor. Now she understood better what her Mom had meant when she said that she was a lot like her Aunt Zoe .... the two had instantly bonded, even during their frequent fights. And of course, Hannah loved Aunt Zoe to death, lapping up all of the expressive love Zoe shares so easily with the people she loves. It helped, Taylor decided, that Aunt Zoe was so tactile towards Hannah, herself, and Cliff - especially Cliff. He's never admit it, of course, but he loved his Aunt's hugs and the way she ran her hands through his hair occasionally. She could see it on his face whenever she did it .... and Taylor knew that it was acts like that that helped them all get through the grief of losing their mother - and sister, in Zoe's case. She still worried about her brother sometimes, though ... he definitely lived in his own world sometimes, and Taylor hurt inside to see her own pain and grief showing in her brother's eyes from time to time.  
  
She decided that she would try to be a better sister to him and help Aunt Zoe keep him from drifting away from them all. His quiet nature sometimes concerned his older sister, even though she loved him unconditionally. She knew he struggled with guilt over their mother's death, and even though everyone's love had helped keep him from totally slipping away from them, the sometimes distant look in his eyes frightened her a little.  
  
Thinking about her brother, she sensed that he's woken up early, too ... she could hear his quiet but distinctive tread downstairs. Wondering whether he was trying to be first to open the rest of the Christmas gifts by the tree, she decided to get up and join him. It sounded like Hannah and Aunt Zoe were still asleep, which was normal - she or Cliff usually woke before the other two, anyway, and Hannah was infamous for being a really heavy sleeper.   
  
Pullling on her thick robe and slippers, she quietly made her way downstairs, careful not to hit any of the squeaky spots on the stairs that would wake her sleeping aunt. Hannah wouldn't hear anything until someone went to wake her, even on Christmas morning when there were gifts to be opened.  
  
Reaching the kitchen where she thought Cliff would be, she noticed he wasn't there, but had opened the back door to go out into the back yard. She could see him through the glass, clad in his winter coat but still wearing his robe. He'd put on boots instead of going out into the snow in his slippers, though, which saved him from the lecture she'd been getting ready to give him. She quietly opened the door and stepped out onto the back porch. He was standing in the middle of the yard, looking up at the stars in the still dark sky, his breath floating up into the wind in front of him. She wrapped her arms around herself, and carefully made her way over to stand beside him.   
  
Looking up, she was startled at the brilliant coldness of the light coming from the stars above their heads. She'd always loved looking at the stars, though she usually did it from the comfort of her bedroom window. Shivering slightly, she decided to say something to break the silence, but her brother spoke first.  
  
"Sometimes I think she's one of those stars, up there looking down on us and waiting for us." He'd heard her come outside, and knew who it was. For someone who lived in his own world sometimes, he was amazingly perceptive at times. Both of them, actually, always seemed to know where the other was. Their aunt sometimes called them the "Wonder Twins" because of it.  
  
She knew immediately who Cliff was talking about, and looked over at him. His face was flushed, and she wondered just how long he'd been standing there in the cold.  
  
"Yeah, me too. I like looking up at the stars from my window, though .... less chance of frostbite that way."  
  
He slowly glanced over at her, smirking. "You're getting a real sense of humor in your old age, sis."  
  
She elbowed him gently, not wanting him to get any colder by falling over into the snow, or getting colder herself. "Watch it, bro - old folks should be respected. I could tell Aunt Zoe what you said, and see what she thinks of your attitude."  
  
"Oops ..... sorry I mentioned anything. Have I told you lately how much I love having you as a sister?" Laughing, he elbowed her back playfully, their breath causing more wisps of white steam to escape into the air.  
  
Smiling at him, she asked, "So how long have you been out here? And are you OK?"  
  
"A while ...... for some reason, I woke up about an hour ago and couldn't go back to sleep. Not sure how long I've been out here .... maybe 20 minutes or so? And as for being OK, yeah, I guess."  
  
"You have a bad dream or something?" She looked over at him again, studying his face as he studied the lights above them. She knew he'd had them off and on since their mother had died .... he and Hannah seemed to suffer from them more than she did.  
  
"Naw .... just came awake for some reason, and I didn't want to wake anybody, just needed some air. Decided to put my coat on and come out here."  
  
"You could have come and woke me, if you needed to talk about anything."  
  
Taylor had always been sensitive to his moods, and he loved that about her. It was one of the things that kept them together the last few months. She would never let him go off into himself too far, and now that their Aunt Zoe had come to live with them, she's somehow gained that ability, too. Must be a woman thing, he thought. Guess that meant Hannah would start doing it pretty soon, too. He sighed at the thought, causing his sister to turn and glance at him again in concern.  
  
"No, I'm fine. And you needed to sleep - I know you had a long day yesterday, helping Aunt Zoe keep Hannah under control."  
  
"Like that's even possible," his sister replied, laughing quietly. "I think Aunt Zoe would have pulled out all her frizzy hair tryng to keep Hannah from the presents all by herself, and doing everything else, too!".  
  
"Yeah, sorry about not being much help with her. Yesterday .... I had a lot of stuff on my mind."  
  
"I know, Cliff ..... I was thinking about Mom a lot, too. Our first Christmas without her - so many times I wanted to burst into tears, but I didn't want to get Hannah started."  
  
"Me, too .... I mean, me neither." He turned and gave Taylor a wry grin. "You know what I mean. I tried to keep my mind on other stuff, but it was hard."  
  
Taylor had slipped her hand into Cliff's as he spoke, and now they stood there, holding hands as the sky turned lighter. He felt her shiver slightly, and he decided they'd been outside long enough. The last thing he needed was to get blamed for either of them getting sick - Aunt Zoe would never let him hear the end of it.  
  
"Come on, sis ..... let's go see if we can make some hot chocolate and figure out what's in those presents under the tree." He squeezed her hand in his, and turned them towards the back door. Taylor moved closer to him, leaning slightly against him as they quietly reentered the house.  
  
"That sure was a cool gift Aunt Zoe gave you last night. I haven't seen Mom's volleyball medal in a while."  
  
"Yeah - I forgot all about it, actually. I know Mom had that group photo of us all in the photo album on the coffee table, and it was really nice Aunt Zoe put it in a separate frame like that. It somehow looks even better that way, and it fits really nice on the wall above my desk. Where did you put her earrings?"  
  
"Right on my dresser, with my other jewelry. I went to sleep last night looking at them outside the box. I love them .... Mom always looked so glamorous when she wore them. I got mad whenever I asked to borrow them, and she wouldn't let me ... but I see why now. They're like ... heirlooms, and I really appreciate them more now that ....." Taylor suddenly lost her voice, unable to continue as she stood in the kitchen, shaking quetly, her eyes closed. In a moment, she felt her brother's arms around her, and she sighed softly as she laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. He slowly rubbed her back, and whispered in her ear, "You'll look so beautiful when you wear them, sis .... just like she did. I think she'll be happy to see them on you from heaven."  
  
She pulled slightly away from him after a second, still inside his arms, her wet eyes searching his. "You really think so?", she whispered.  
  
"Yeah," Cliff smiled at her, and Taylor returned his smile. "So many guys at school ask me about you, it's getting embarassing. And when you wear those earrings, I'll have even more questions to answer from guys wanting to know when they can call here, or whether you're dating anybody!"   
  
Her cheeks blushed, as she slowly shook her head. "Stop teasing me, Cliff. I have a long way to go before I start looking as good as Mom, or Aunt Zoe!"  
  
"No .... you don't, Taylor. I'm not teasing you, either." That simple statement, and the adoration she saw in his eyes as he said it, brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes. She leaned in to kiss him softly on his cheek, and whispered, "Thanks," before playfully pushing him towards the coat rack in the hall. "Okay, off with the coat and then find the hot chocolate. I'll get some milk heated and get the cups." He saluted her smartly, whispering, "Aye aye, ma'am!" in a low voice to keep from waking anyone else in the house as he moved away towards the hall, pulling off his boots as he went.  
  
Watching him fondly, Taylor turned towards the kitchen, rubbing her sides briskly to get warm and getting a pan from the overhead hooks to warm the milk she'd retrieved from the refrigerator. She also grabbed some chocolate syrup and set in on the kitchen table, since everyone in the house mutually agreed that hot chocolate wasn't real hot chocolate until you added syrup.  
  
Cliff returned to the kitchen, and started quietly going through the cabinets before finding the hot chocolate container. He brought it over to the kitchen table, and got a spoon from the drawer. Using it to measure out the powder into the cups Taylor had placed on the table, he sat down, watching Taylor as she moved at the stove, swirling the milk in the pan, keeping it from boiling over or burning. She still had a few goose bumps on her hands and cheeks, he noticed, and went to get Aunt Zoe's sweater from the coat hook, and brought it over to place on Taylor's shoulders. "Mmmm," she said, as he adjusted her hair on the collar of the thick sweater. "Such a gentleman," she said, smiling at him while keeping an eye on the milk.  
  
"My pleasure, ma'am," he replied softly, touching an imaginary bill on an imaginary cap as he smiled back at her.  
  
"You look so military-like when you do that, bro," Taylor told him. "Are you still thinking about the Navy?"  
  
She was the only person who knew about his interest in joining the military. Even though he hadn't decided for sure what he was going to do, he liked the idea of seeing the world and having the military pay for college. That would make it easier on Aunt Zoe to send Taylor to college, and save for Hannah when she was ready to go. At least, that was one of the reasons he'd give his aunt when he got up the courage to talk to her about it. So far, all she'd said on the subject was, "You're going to college, mister, so keep those grades up!" He knew his mom's life insurance would make it easier for all three of them to go to college, but if he joined the service, everyone would have more options. He'd already mentioned this to Taylor, and she'd promised not to tell anyone until he was ready to bring it up.  
  
"Yeah, kinda. I spent some time at the Navy website the other day, just to get some more information. I haven't made up my mind for sure, but if I do go in, I think I want to fly jets off of carriers, and study engineering, too."  
  
The milk was ready, and Taylor brought the pan over to the table, slowly filling both cups as Cliff added syrup for both of them. She smiled her thanks as he gave her an extra bit of chocolate syrup, just the way she liked her cocoa. She sat and stirred her drink, and asked him, "When do you think you'll mention it to Aunt Zoe?"   
  
"Well, if I decide to do this, I need to start getting ready when I'm a junior, so sometime between now and next fall."  
  
The thought of leaving his family for school and maybe the Navy scared him, and he could see by the look in Taylor's eyes that it scared her, too. She would want him to do what made him happy, and she'd always be there for him, but he could tell she didn't want him to go away. She had decided to go to a school as close to home as possible, hopefully Northwestern, and she also wanted him to be nearby, too.  
  
"The Navy trains cadets at the Great Lakes complex, Taylor, so I'd be in the area for basic training, at least. After that, it's probably going to be either the West or East coast for pilot training, then to a carrier - if I make it that far. I still might just stay around here and go to DePaul or another school with a decent engineering program."  
  
"You will," she said, gazing at him with her typical faith and support. He believed it more when she looked at him like that. "I would miss you so much, but I would want you to be doing what you want to do. It would be so cool to be going to college together in the same area, though!"  
  
"I promise, sis .... we'll never be too far away from each other. Even if I'm on the other side of the planet, I'll always be there for you."  
  
She looked in his eyes, and reached over to take his hand in hers. "Good ..... I'm going to hold you to that promise. I just can't imagine doing anything without you, Aunt Zoe, and Hannah close by. I can't believe I'm going to be a senior next fall, and if I get through all that, then it's off to Northwestern."  
  
"You'll be great, don't worry. Just be prepared for Aunt Zoe conducting background investigations on anyone you date!", he laughed.  
  
Laughing too, Taylor replied, "Yeah, well, I'm just gonna run them all past my little brother for the Cliff stamp of approval - that's all I need!"  
  
He grinned as they sipped their hot chocolate together, enjoying the warmth of a new day, the holiday, and the love and support they shared. Not to say that they weren't as close to Hannah and Aunt Zoe, but Taylor and Cliff had always had a special bond - even as babies. It was then that Hannah came bounding down the stairs, running straight for the presents stacked around the tree. They all heard Aunt Zoe groan softly as she moved around upstairs, and grinned at each other. Their Aunt wasn't what you'd call the world's best 'morning' person, and they all had several late notes to school as proof. Taylor finished her cocoa and, looking over at her brother, smiled and said, "I'd better make some coffee for her - she's gonna need it today. Dan's coming over later to hang out with us and watch movies, and Aunt Zoe probably doesn't want to fall asleep on his shoulder again like last week. She was SO embarassed when she woke up with drool on his shirt, and all of us laughing at her. I'm sure Dan gave her flack about it at work this week - those two are crazy together!"  
  
"Yeah, that WAS so funny - watching them jaw at each other while he tried to wipe the drool off his shirt!", he laughed, taking their empty cups over to the sink. "I'd better go make sure Hannah hasn't tore open all the presents getting to the ones for her .... thanks for the hot chocolate, and the nice talk." He leaned over and kissed her cheek as he ruffled her hair. "You'd better hit the brush, too ..... don't wanna scare Dan when he gets here!"  
  
Sticking out her tongue at him, she gave him a raspberry, reaching over to gently stroke his cheek as he passed her, moving to the living room where Hannah was. "You're welcome, little brother! I better have a super gift in there or else there's gonna be trouble!"  
  
"Did someone say trouble down there!?!", Aunt Zoe warned from the top of the stairs. "I don't want no trouble today - bad enough that Dan person's coming over to mess up the house. You three behave while I get showered and dressed!"  
  
Hannah and Cliff looked over at Taylor when Aunt Zoe had finished grumbling, grinning at each other. It was going to be an interesting Christmas Day in the Busiek house, for sure.  
  
The End 


End file.
